


My Destiny Begins When I Met You

by jade_lil



Category: Arashi (Band)
Genre: Arashi - Freeform, Canon Het Relationship, F/M, Fanfiction, Fluff/Romance, Jun Fic Exchange, M/M, Matsumiya - Freeform, Romantic Comedy
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-08-31
Updated: 2013-08-31
Packaged: 2017-12-25 05:44:32
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 8,446
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/949319
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/jade_lil/pseuds/jade_lil
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Jun is turning thirty soon and this stupid vow that he and his bestfriend Shun promised to carry out before they hit the big 3-0 is already getting on his nerves.</p>
            </blockquote>





	My Destiny Begins When I Met You

**Author's Note:**

  * For [shitosa215](https://archiveofourown.org/gifts?recipient=shitosa215).



> My fic assignment for Freestyle Forum's recently held Jun Fic Exchange.

 

“You need to what?!”

Jun stares incredulously at Aiba, who is slapping his bestfriend/roommate, Ohno, on the back with his fist as Ohno coughs and coughs, spitting out a ridiculous amount of rice across their previously clean floor.

Jun’s not really planning on telling his neighbors (who became his friends after a while) about _it,_ it’s just that he’d be turning thirty soon - in a couple of months actually – and this stupid vow that he and his bestfriend Shun had promised to carry out before they hit the big 3-0 is already getting on his nerves.

Not to mention the irritating fact that Shun kept on nagging him about it, since the bastard had already managed to fulfill their so-called vow the year before.

He snorted, watching Ohno gulp a tall glass of water Aiba handed him. “Wow, nice reaction,” he muses.

Neither of the two spoke for about a full minute before Aiba does, as expected as Ohno remained quiet. “So you’re saying, you have to get married,” Aiba says, his voice unexpectedly low and raspy. “ – before you turn thirty,”

“Yes,” he counters, ignoring the way Aiba steals a couple of meaningful glances over his bestfriend and equally ignoring the pitiful face Ohno is making. “Well, I and Shun sort of made that vow back in high school, that we have to be married on or before we reach the age of thirty. And since that asshole friend of mine _accidentally_ – his word, not mine -- knocked his girlfriend up last year so he was left with no other choice but to marry her, he hadn’t stopped nagging me about fulfilling that vow myself as well,”  

Aiba exchanges look with Ohno. “O-Okay; that makes sense, but still…” Aiba mutters and pauses to possibly rearrange his thoughts, then adds. “But, I don’t think you really need to force yourself to marry if you don’t want to, right?” Aiba follows; his eyes and expressions remained serious.

Jun blinks. “Well, it’s not that I don’t want to get married per se, because the fact is, I think I want to. I’m old enough to get married and I think it’s high time I think about the future.”

“So, okay, you want to get married,” Ohno mumbles this time, “Does that mean you already proposed?” 

He blinks. “T-To Mao-chan?” Aiba clarifies, as if there is any other person Jun is supposed to propose marriage with except his girlfriend. This, come to think of it, hasn’t even crossed his mind since this marriage thing came up.

He thinks about it, really, really thinks about it. “No, not yet. Not really,” he replies, eyes locked on his fingers and completely missing the way Ohno’s face brightens exponentially. 

“What the hell do you mean by that?” Mutters Aiba, surprised. “But.. But, Mao-chan is your girlfriend, right? Are you saying you want to get married but you’re not sure if you want to marry Mao-chan?” Aiba asks, subtly elbowing Ohno on the ribs.

Jun looks up and stares at Aiba and Ohno’s faces. “I.. I don’t know,”

Ohno stands up and leaves without another word, leaving him and Aiba behind. Latter reaches for his wallet, takes a card out and puts it down the table before he pushes the card towards him.

“You’re obviously confused,” says Aiba as he stares at the card and the name of the marriage counselor written on it. “Go and talk to that guy and I’m sure he can help you,” 

He considers his options just as he takes the card and nods at Aiba.

#

The name written on the card Aiba handed him with a week ago was Sakurai Sho – Marriage Counselor – in big, bold letters, and honestly, he had been imagining facing a man who’s either a gay guy with a beard or a balding middle-aged guy with a huge tummy.

Sakurai Sho is neither, and Jun really wasn’t expecting the marriage counselor to be this _hot_.  

“So, Matsumoto-san,” the man opposite him starts as he forces himself to look up, carefully avoiding looking at the man’s delicious biceps (why the hell was he thinking the man’s biceps were delicious, he doesn’t have any idea). “ – let’s start from the beginning, shall we?” The man says, lifting his pen from his penholder and opening his notebook, before looking up to meet Jun’s gaze. 

He clears his throat. “Umm, from the beginning?”

“Yes,” Sakurai-san nods thoughtfully. “If you please - ”

“You mean, about why I’m here?” he clarifies.

Sakurai-san nods again. “Well I’m pretty certain it has something to do with marriage, but I may be wrong --”

He’s not, but. “I’m not married yet,” he says carefully. 

“But are you planning on getting married? Is that why you’re here?”

He thinks about it for a full minute before he shakes his head. “I think so… I don’t know,”

“You don’t know?” Sakurai-san echoes. “You mean, you don’t know if you want to get married, or you do want to get married at some point but you don’t know if you’re marrying the right person?” Marriage counselor asks without pausing and then, “I suppose you are in a relationship?”

“Yes, I am. We’ve been together for a year and a half now,”

Sakurai-san starts chewing the other end of his pen, seemingly lost in thought. “And the topic of marriage came up?” he asks.

“No, it has nothing to do with my relationship with her, actually,” he says, trying his best to find the right words to clarify this little misunderstanding. “See, my bestfriend and I sort of made this vow about getting married before we reach the age of thirty, and, well, I’ll be turning thirty in a few months – in August, to be precise – and well, I am really thinking of fulfilling it; not just because he keeps on nagging me about it but because I also think it is high time I settle down --”

“So what’s stopping you?” Marriage counselor-san asks. “You have a girlfriend for almost two years and I can tell just by looking at you that you are earning enough to start a family. So, what seems to be the problem?”

He shrugs. “I just -- I don’t know if she wants to marry me?” He says, not meeting Sakurai-san’s eyes. “Maybe she does, but I haven’t really thought about asking her, I don’t know, maybe she won’t agree? I’m not sure,” he babbles. 

“You know, Matsumoto-san, I don’t want to sound like I’m prying but let me ask you one thing,” Sakurai-san says, leaning forward with his elbows on the table and Jun waits patiently. “When you think of marriage, do you think about it with her in mind or not? Do you see yourself marrying her or someone else?”

He blinks several times, letting Sakurai-san’s words sink in properly. “I.. I really don’t know,” he answers. Then he realizes he’s been answering the same thing to most of Sakurai-san’s questions.

Sakurai-san nods thoughtfully again before he goes to writing something down on his notebook. Jun is left pondering on what the marriage counselor has just told him, wondering if there is something wrong with him. 

Surely, it is only natural to expect that he is marrying his long-time girlfriend; but even that time when Aiba and Ohno asked him whether he already proposed, he felt awkwardly detached to the fact that they meant only one person – his girlfriend, Mao. 

But the scary thing here is the fact that he hadn’t even thought about her, not at all; that when Shun started mentioning about their stupid little agreement, that it is now his turn to bite the other end of their vow baton, Mao’s name didn’t even enter his mind.

Which should be odd because there hasn’t been anyone else but her, so it really is a shock to realize that he is thinking of marriage, minus his girlfriend?

“Oh, shit --" 

Sakurai-san seems to know exactly what is going through his head, offering him a consoling smile in return.

“Don’t worry, Matsumoto-san,” Sakurai-san says as he stands up from his expensive-looking swivel chair, brushing the imaginary wrinkles off his brown slacks and light yellow-colored Ralph Lauren polo shirt. “That’s not really a problem unless you have gone ahead and proposed half-heartedly. It’s a good thing you came to me first, at least we can pinpoint where your confusion is coming from,” 

“Confusion?” he echoes.

Sakurai-san grins. “Well, it’s so obvious that you’re confused. You want to get married but you don’t think about marrying your girlfriend – am I correct?” 

Well, that maybe is, but. “Yes, but it’s not like –“ 

Sakurai-san waves a hand and effectively cuts him off. “I’m not saying that you have another person in mind, because I’m sure you don’t. You’re not cheating on her, I am sure, so you don’t have to worry about that. What I’m trying to say is that, maybe, possibly, perhaps you don’t love her enough to think of marrying her? Or, maybe you are afraid? There are so many possibilities, and unless we try to poke at each possibility, we wouldn’t know what triggers this confusion --”

“O – kay,” he agrees, “So what are you suggesting?”

Sakurai-san smiles, and it’s the kind of smile that makes you think of those pretty idols gracing the covers of idol magazines; Sakurai-san smiles like he knows exactly what Jun is thinking, like he knows where the glitch in Jun’s brain is located.

“Simple,” Sakurai-san grins even more, “I suggest you try and go out with other people,” he says, ignoring the fact that Jun is currently gaping, like he’s not even aware that Jun looks like his jaw just hit the floor as he continues.

“Oh, don’t look so shocked, it’s just an experiment! I’m saying you try and date other people, discreetly of course, because I don’t really want you to come back here telling me how your girlfriend found out about your little affair and she broke up with you because of that – no, that’s not what we’re after, alright?”

He is still gaping when he says, “Then what is that we’re after, exactly?” 

Sakurai-san puts a hand on his shoulder and squeezes him.

“You’ll see,” Sakurai-san says confidently. “For now, you try and do as I say, yeah? I expect you back here within a week!” Sakurai-san exclaims, clapping him not-so-gently on the back.

“And what if I don’t find anyone?” he asks.

“Believe me, you will. Now shoo.” Sakurai-san literally shoves him out of his office door with a grin. 

#

He is lounging at Ohno and Aiba’s place the next day, complaining about Marriage Counselor-san’s odd way of talking to his potential clients/patients.

Aiba laughs at him when he told the taller man what he thinks about Sakurai-san. “Idol, eh? Well, Sho-chan sure is good looking, but I don’t think he’s fit to be an idol. Politician, maybe? Smart guy, I’m telling you. Back in college, we used to tease him about having such big brain for someone so small,”

_ I’m pretty sure that’s not the only thing he’s got that is big_ , his brain answers at the same time and he mentally smacks himself on the head for thinking lewd things about certain people. Certain _hot_ people.

He slaps his mouth and ignores Aiba’s worried stare. “Errr, yeah, I agree,” he mumbles and grabs the cup of lukewarm tea Aiba served him a while ago and takes a few tentative sips.

“Why, did he make you do something weird?” Aiba prods; he looks obviously intrigued but Jun guesses he couldn’t blame the other man. He’d probably be intrigued himself if the situation is reversed.

He shrugs and takes his attention back to his tea.

“Not really,” he pauses for a sip, “ – he just told me to –“

“Oh-chan, are you here?” A high-pitched voice calls from somewhere, cutting him off as the door opens abruptly, and someone emerged from behind it. His gaze automatically landed on the skinny person pushing the door wide open, still calling Ohno’s name in a very loud voice as if he owns the place. He glances at Aiba, who looks like he’s either ignoring the guy calling his roommate’s name or he’s just probably used to it that he doesn’t care anymore.

“Aiba-chan, someone –“

“Hellooo?? Oh-chan, hey, are you here?“

Aiba continues munching on his cookies as the skinny person comes into full view, hands on either side of his hips and stops about a few steps away from them. He and Aiba are seated on the living room, facing each other on Aiba’s low coffee table, Aiba’s back facing the skinny person.

The skinny person’s gaze met his over Aiba’s shoulder and smirks – he thinks the man just did but the next time he blinks, the smirk is gone and is replaced with a smile that makes Jun’s heart skip pleasantly. Although, why his heart needs to skip pleasantly at the sight of another man’s smile certainly beats him, but it does anyway so he really couldn’t do anything about it.

“Idiot-chan, have you gone deaf? I’ve been shouting out here, thinking no one’s home and yet you’re just here lazing around. Where’s Oh-chan?” The skinny person fires out, eyes locked on Jun’s face. 

“He’s somewhere,” Aiba responds, finally, still munching on a cookie. “Though I’m not sure where because he didn’t tell me where he’s going. You need anything, Ninomiya-san?” Aiba replies without even looking at the skinny man, Ninomiya.

Ninomiya starts walking towards them. “Yeah, actually I do,” skinny Ninomiya says, eyeing Jun; he rounds his way towards them and beams at Jun in particular. Latter couldn’t help but feel a bit awkward being stared at by someone who’s practically a stranger. But by the looks of it, this person is probably Ohno and Aiba’s close friend, judging with how he’s moving so at ease at this place.

“Aren’t you going to introduce me to your visitor, Idiot-chan?”

Jun is surprised at that sudden request but tries hard not to let it show on his face. The man looks so young, probably on his early twenty’s, with pale complexion and dark brown eyes. Jun notes the cute little mark under the man’s chin (just a tiny bit bigger than the one he has on his upper lip) and the beautiful collarbones peeking from underneath the man’s shirt.

Aiba shrugs. “Sure, Matsumoto Jun, meet Ninomiya Kazunari – Satoshi’s self-proclaimed soul mate,” huffing a little and cutting him off with a curt, “And no, don’t ask me why he thinks that because I don’t have any idea. All I know is he loves touching Ohno’s butt and Ohno lets him get away with it everytime. But no, they’re not fucking and yes, that just makes the whole affair so fucking confusing,” when he is about to ask Aiba what the hell he means.

Jun thinks he’s going to bleed. “W-What?”

Ninomiya Kazunari seems used to being introduced like that, grinning as he picks up his step and moves to sit beside him. “Oh, don’t mind him,” he says, jerking a thumb towards Aiba’s way without even looking at the other man. “He’s just jealous that I love Oh-chan’s butt more than I love his. Anyway,” he pauses to lick his palm before he offers it to Jun. “I’m Ninomiya, but you can just call me Nino,”

“I thought only your closest friends can call you ‘Nino’?” Aiba inquires, sounding vaguely interested. “And you already told Matssun to –“

“Oh, shut up, will you?” Ninomiya bites back, but it lacks the expected venom; he scoots closer to Jun and grins at Jun felinely. “Matsumoto-san can call me with any name he wants to call me with, I won’t mind,”

Aiba bites back a snigger. “Oh god, now you’re flirting with him! Stop that, he’s straight, okay? He has a girlfriend and he’s about to mar –“

“Nice to meet you, Ninomiya-san,” he quickly retorts, cutting Aiba off before he even finishes what he is about to say.

“Ah, don’t say I didn’t warn you, Matssun,” Aiba says before he turns his attention back to Ninomiya. “What was that you said you needed from Oh-chan, Nino?”

Nino’s smile is too sweet that Jun thinks he’s going to have cavities just by simply watching his face.

“Oh, yes,” Ninomiya says, eyes still glued on Jun’s and that’s when Jun realizes that their hands are still clamped together when Nino squeezes his. “I need to borrow Oh-chan’s laptop --”

“But Ohno doesn’t have a lap –“ 

“ – and since he’s not here,” Nino continues, completely ignoring Aiba as he strokes the inside of Jun’s palm with his thumb; Jun doesn’t know why his heartbeat is racing, only that it does and it seemed to please Ninomiya when he realizes this. Ninomiya leans closer to Jun until Jun can practically inhale Ninomiya’s every breath.

“Can I borrow yours instead?” Ninomiya asks.

Jun knows Aiba is watching them curiously, that he should feel more than a little disturbed that he’s practically allowing a stranger to be this close but he just doesn’t care.

“Sure,” he finds himself answering, slowly feeling himself get lost to the man’s intense stare, the unfamiliar sensation of fingers stroking his skin; he doesn’t even hesitate when he repeats it, watching the man watch him. “I live next door, do you want to come and –“

“Sure,” Ninomiya says, copying him and Jun suddenly feels hot all over. “Sure, Matsumoto-san,”

#

“I live alone,” he says just because he doesn’t really know what to say and Ninomiya’s gone quiet as he opens his front door, toes his shoes off, shuffles inside and lets Ninomiya in after him. Ninomiya’s gaze wander around for a bit but doesn’t say anything even as he follows the other man inside. 

He points at the couch. “You can sit down – the laptop’s in the bedroom so I’ll just go and get it for you,” he says, meeting Ninomiya’s eyes for a second before he turns his gaze away; he really doesn’t get why his pulse is going crazy whenever he sees the way Ninomiya’s lips tilt just the tiniest bit into a semblance of smile even though he is sure that the man’s eyes are saying something else.

He also doesn’t understand why Ninomiya needs to borrow anyone’s laptop or why he is letting him borrow his own laptop for that matter when he doesn’t even know this man not even for an hour.

“Okay,” Ninomiya agrees, shifts to make himself comfortable on Jun’s couch. He watches as Ninomiya slides his hands over the leather surface, like he is trying to determine which material it was made of before Ninomiya leans comfortably back and looks up to smile at him.

“Matsumoto-san?” 

His chest is constricting and it doesn’t help that Ninomiya is looking expectantly at him, like the other man is trying to tell him something through his eyes that his mouth couldn’t. 

“T-The laptop,” he stutters; it only makes Ninomiya look even more amused as he turns away towards the direction of the bedroom and curses under his breath on his way there.

He is unplugging the said laptop from its socket when a pair of warm arms slides around his waist.

“What the --!” He splutters, almost dropping the laptop on the floor but thankfully, he is able to keep it from falling, head snapping in an almost dangerous angle to check the owner of the arms that are now tightly wrapped around him.

Liquid brown eyes meets his and Jun doesn’t even know why his insides churns –not in a bad way, no – realizing that it is Ninomiya who is just licking his lower lips, still not saying anything as he keeps his arms around Jun’s middle. 

“N-Ninomiya-san, what are you –“ 

“Oh, please don’t tell me you didn’t see this coming,” Ninomiya says without any hint of embarrassment as he quickly lets go only to carefully take the laptop off of Jun’s shaky grip, putting it back down on the table before backing Jun against his bedroom wall. Jun’s eyes are so wide, his breath coming out in ragged gasps when Ninomiya shoves a knee in between his legs, feeling him up through his jeans as Ninomiya licks at his chin.

“W-What are you doing?” He manages to ask even though he knows exactly what Ninomiya is doing, he’s not that stupid, swallowing down a moan that is threatening to spill out when Ninomiya rolls his knee against his jeans-covered crotch.

“What does it look like?” Ninomiya answers, his breath sounded harsh, husky -- and Jun wants to kiss him just to know what his voice tastes like.

He blinks a couple of times to clear the debilitating haze. “I – I t-thought you just want to borrow my laptop --”

Ninomiya rolls his eyes at the same time he rolls his hips against him. “Don’t be stupid, it’s just a dumb excuse and you know it; now can you please stop talking and do something about this instead?” Ninomiya says, pointing down their bodies using his lips.

He suddenly remembers what Marriage Counselor-san has told him he must do, commanding his limbs to move even though Ninomiya obviously has the upper hand. 

“W-Wait, wait,” he says, pushing Ninomiya off with a hand against the smaller man’s chest. It’s too easy, because Ninomiya is a lightweight, not to mention, short. Ninomiya huffs, annoyed, and tries futilely to go back to touching him but he stops him again with firm grip around Ninomiya’s elbow. “Wait, I said; you need to know something first,” he says, breathless.

Ninomiya seems to take this in stride. Brows furrowed, he stills. 

“What, are you married? I didn’t see any wedding ring on and didn’t you just say you live alone?” Ninomiya asks with a scowl, crosses his arms tightly over his chest but doesn’t back away.

“I’m not,” he answers, “ – but –“

Ninomiya’s scowl softens a little. Just a little. He takes a step forward.  “What then? You’re engaged? Legally separated? Divorced? Widow?” 

Jun can’t help but snort. “None of the above,” he says around a little smile. “But I’m planning on getting married,” he confesses.

It’s Ninomiya’s turn to snort. He reaches over and slaps him lightly on the shoulder. “Hey, I didn’t come here to stop you from whatever it is you’re planning to do in your life, okay? I just thought you’re pretty and I really, really like the shape of your mouth and hips.. but if you think it’s awkward getting it on with someone like me, it’s fine, I’ll just go.” Ninomiya says and starts to back away. 

Jun doesn’t know why he’s already reached out to grab Ninomiya’s arm before his brain catches on to his body’s movements. He tugs Ninomiya back, slides his hands along Ninomiya’s side and reels him in.

Ninomiya’s eyes are burning when their gazes meet.

“Did I say anything about this being awkward?” he says, mouthing the words directly against Ninomiya’s lips.

“No, but –“

He leans forward and nips at Ninomiya’s cheek. “Actually, _this_ marriage counselor told me I was confused and that I should probably try and date other people, since I have been thinking of marriage, minus my long-time girlfriend,” he says, breathless, watching Ninomiya’s half-closed eyes as he brushes his lips across Ninomiya’s soft skin.

Ninomiya groans, eyes still closed. “I really don’t think _that_ Marriage Counselor will agree with what you just did – as far as I know, those things are to remain a secret,” Ninomiya pops an eye to squint at him. “Anyway, I really don’t care; let’s fuck and get this over and done with,”

“I was only told to date, not fuck,” Jun mumbles and gasps when Ninomiya reaches down to cup him through his pants.

“Screw that,” Ninomiya says, open-mouthed against Jun’s own. “Your dick sure thinks otherwise,”

Jun moans when Ninomiya finds the head of his length and pinches him lightly, mouth open in a gasp when Ninomiya repeated the action. 

He curses. “Oh _yes_ \--”  

Ninomiya grins. “I think so too --”

# 

They both took their time, at least after the ‘undress me and I’ll undress you’ business, because Ninomiya sure likes to touch and touch, his small hands and wicked mouth knows exactly where to find those ticklish spots in his body that he hadn’t known existed – the crook of his elbow when Ninomiya’s tongue did a thorough licking, the inside of his palm when Ninomiya delivered gentle nips and bites across it.

He also didn’t know he is capable of moaning so loud when Ninomiya’s mouth finally found him, hard and aching, and obviously just waiting to be devoured as Ninomiya does that and more. 

He arches his back when Ninomiya parts his mouth wide, eyes locked on his face as he slowly takes him in, deeper and deeper till he is sure he hits the back of Ninomiya’s throat. He is trembling, his knees shaking as he bends his ankles, fingers threading through Ninomiya’s hair and keeps himself from moaning, but does so anyway because he can’t help it – Ninomiya is that good. 

“Oh, _god --_ ” 

Ninomiya pulls his mouth back with a wet pop and Jun thinks the veins in his neck are going to pop afterwards too, and then he will be left dying in absolute ecstasy. 

Ninomiya grins, his mouth hovering over the head of his over-sensitive length.

“That’s right, make some noise and let me know how good it feels,” he says, before he’s leaning in again, tilting his head again to trace the bulging veins around his flesh with the tips of his tongue. 

He manages another strangled-sounded ‘ _oh god’_ as Ninomiya takes him back in and brings him deeper into his mouth.

#

“You look way better than the last time I saw you --” Sakurai-san tells him the minute he lets him in, which he immediately doubted because his nerves are on edge and he feels so much different than he was three days ago.

“Seriously?” He mutters in disbelief, “Are you sure you remember who I am?” He asks, feeling stupid when Sakurai-san simply laughs. 

“Of course, Matsumoto-san,” Sakurai-san says, “Yours is a face that can’t be easily forgotten – “ _Right, thanks_ , he wants to say but Sakurai-san didn’t give him the chance and goes straight to business. “So tell me, did you follow my advice? It looks like you did, so, okay, that’s a pretty stupid question. Let me rephrase that, did it feel good to go out with other people?” 

“I didn’t,” he answers simply, avoiding Sakurai-san’s inquiring gaze. 

“Sorry,” Sakurai-san counters, sounding just the tiniest bit confused. “You didn’t what?” 

He shrugs. “Went out with other people --” 

Sakurai-san blinks. “Are you sure? Because you look –“ 

“Yes,” he says quickly. “ – because instead of going out with one, I ended up fucking one. Someone. Well, I met him in Aiba-chan’s house and we sort of --” 

Sakurai-san starts a coughing fit, obviously choking on his own spit. “You – what?!”

Great. Just great, because Sakurai-san sure looks like he wasn’t expecting any of these. But it’s too late to rein his thoughts in, because all he could see in front of him is Ninomiya, and Ninomiya’s skinny form and pale skin underneath his sheets, the way Ninomiya curled around him after he had fucked him so hard that Ninomiya went straight to sleep afterwards. The way Ninomiya murmured his name as he laid there beside him, sated and so very satisfied the way he hadn’t felt in years.

And then just like that, things starts to click into place without him realizing it.

He looks up to see Sakurai-san watching him, the initial disgust he thought he’d see in his face is no longer there.

“So, do you still need my help figuring this out?” Sakurai-san inquires with a thoughtful smile.

He shakes his head and stands up, reaches over to shake Sakurai-san’s hand.

He smiles when Sakurai-san does. “No, not anymore,” he says, “You’ve done enough. Thank you.”

Sakurai-san shrugs. “Just doing my job,” he says, then goes around, leading him to the door. “Now, I think you have something very important to do?”

“Yes,” he says, and honestly, he feels a little sad that he has to.

Sakurai-san smiles encouragingly. “Just – just don’t make it hurt too bad, okay? I know you’re not going to be able to help it, but at least, break it with her gently so –“ Sakurai-san pauses, sure that he already understands what he means by it. 

He wishes it is that easy. “I’ll try,” 

“Good luck, Matsumoto-san,” 

“Thank you.”

#

It is easier said than done, that much is true, because now that he finds himself standing in front of Mao’s apartment door, he couldn’t help but feel bad. 

Well, it’s not like he didn’t love her, because he did, he is sure about it, but maybe somewhere along the way, he just kind of fell out – he just wasn’t able to realize it then. 

At least not until this marriage thing came up. 

… or to put it bluntly and honestly, not until he met Ninomiya. 

He could feel his cheeks heats up at the memory of that afternoon he spent with Ninomiya in his apartment, on his bed; the way he had laughed so hard at Ninomiya’s weird antics when he volunteered to cook for them (because apparently, he had made Ninomiya so hungry for food and for something else, “-but that something else could wait for now, I’m starving!”) and the way Ninomiya seemed to be able to squeeze and fit himself in his life in a span of few hours without even trying. 

He remembers watching Ninomiya move around as if he knew exactly where he needed to go, how Ninomiya found his cutleries and utensils in just one try (“Aha, I know they’re in here! I’m the smartest, you don’t have to say it.) while grinning at him like a total idiot.

He knows what he wants now; the only thing left for him to do is to make sure he clears everything first before he jumps onto the next, where he knows it involves talking to Ninomiya and maybe threatening him with something close to murder just to make sure he agrees. 

He smiles when he remembers the kisses he and Ninomiya shared by the door, the way Ninomiya clung unto him like he really didn’t want to go just yet. He knows now that what happened between them didn’t need to simply end there, because they both felt it then – this deep connection, or whatever the hell they call this – the way he hadn’t felt with anyone else. 

He stares at the door and realizes that since this is finally out in the open, getting married before he turned thirty is simply out of the question. 

Unless Japan proclaims it is legal for couples of the same sex to marry here, the same way it is legal in other Western countries. 

 _ Great_ , he thinks while blushing, _I haven’t even gone to see him again and I am already thinking of marrying him_ , he shakes his head and pulls out something from his pants’ pocket – the duplicate key to Mao’s apartment front door – and slips it in the knob. He is sure Mao is home, he saw her car when he parked his beside it.

He pushes the door open and slightly wonders why the apartment’s lights are turned off when he is pretty sure she is home. He toes his shoes off, barely realizing that her shoes aren’t even neatly placed where she usually places them, and they look like they were simply tossed there in haste. 

He puts his keys back into his pocket, thinking he really should leave the duplicate here before he leaves and continues his journey inside.

He hasn’t even properly stepped inside when his body stops and he stills, eyes bulging at the sight that greeted him. 

His girlfriend, Mao, is bracing herself on her couch and is kneeling on all fours while someone fucks her relentlessly from behind, the sounds of their mingling moans filling the air. 

“Ung, M-Mao-chan _, so good_ , so good,” 

He is sure his eyeballs just popped out of their sockets when he realized who that someone fucking his girlfriend is.

“ _OHNO,_ what the fucking hell are you doing?!” He yells and in three big strides, he is next to them, swings his right arm and delivers a hard punch to Ohno’s face.

# 

He is terribly pissed at the fact that Mao is the one consoling Ohno instead of the other way around. Terribly pissed may even be an understatement because really, he feels close to murdering that someone and it doesn’t help that Mao doesn’t even look the slightest bit apologetic.

He can’t believe this is happening, that this probably has been happening behind his back for quite some time now (the look on Aiba and Ohno’s faces confirmed it, so he didn’t bother asking anymore) and that he didn’t have any idea. 

Mao had simply grabbed Ohno’s shirt and had put it on without bothering putting on her underwear (“What’s the use, you already saw us.”) and just wrapped her arms around Ohno as he trembles against her. Aiba came in not even ten minutes after he received the call from Mao herself, throwing Jun an apologetic nod before he went straight to his bestfriend’s side.

Jun feels entirely left out. 

Well, at least until Ninomiya and Sakurai-san arrived.

Mao even found the guts to roll her eyes at him when he told her he was the one who called Sakurai-san, since he really don’t know anyone who would at least back him up the way Aiba is backing Ohno up now, and Shun is already out by default. 

He just doesn’t know why Ninomiya had to tag along, and then belatedly realizing that Sakurai-san and Ninomiya obviously knew each other, but chose to ignore that little detail in favor of keeping himself from hauling curses towards Mao and Ohno. 

Aiba had thankfully managed to coerce Ohno into putting his pants on, still trembling and maybe crying against Mao’s shoulder like a child who had just been caught stealing. He still couldn’t believe this is happening. He actually came here to break up with Mao, and catching Mao and Ohno – 

“Shit,” he curses, probably the thirtieth time in ten minutes as he rubs his throbbing temple. No one has yet to say anything; most probably they are waiting for him to start throwing things around while yelling. 

He looks at Mao and wonders why she looks like she really doesn’t care. He bites his lips and takes his gaze elsewhere, to Sakurai-san leaning back against the wall next to the door and to Ninomiya who simply walks away, towards the direction of the kitchen to do whatever the hell he wants to do there. 

“Do we really have to break up in front of an audience, Jun?” Mao asks in a very loud voice, her lovely fingers on Ohno’s hair. “Because I am pretty sure that’s the reason why you came here in the first place,” she says, fingers stilling on the nape of Ohno’s neck. 

“Mao,” he grits, “ – I … I really don’t know what to say. I… this is –“ he pauses, sees the way Mao purses her lips and arches her perfectly groomed eyebrows.

“Let’s stop with the pleasantries, shall we?” she says with a small smile. “I really don’t want to end things between us in a sour note, and I’m sure you share the same sentiment. I have been talking to Sakurai-san for quite some time now, too, and I’m sure he also told you the same thing he had told me. And that is why you are here, right? I just – well, you should have called me first, at least, because if you had, then –“ she pauses and purses her lips when Sakurai-san holds out a hand, as if he is telling Mao she had said enough. 

And then he saw it – the recognition in Sakurai’s eyes when he saw Mao, the way Ninomiya remained quiet, from the time they arrived until now, like he’d rather be anywhere else than here. Now he realized why Mao is acting the way she has, the way she seemed to take all of these in stride, as if she is somehow expecting this to happen sooner or later. And how he feels even more disgusted with himself for realizing that all of those are for show – that none of those things happened because they are supposed to, but because someone had been quietly maneuvering these things behind his back.    

He just couldn’t give a damn about it anymore at this point. 

He turns to glare at Sakurai-san and clenches his jaw. “Then I wouldn’t have caught you in that spectacular act with that asshole!” he bites, fuming.

Sakurai-san steps forward, to maybe say something but Mao beats him to it.

“Okay, I apologize for that,” She says, and she at least sounded genuinely apologetic but Jun is still furious, so he doesn’t care. “ – but do you really have to get so mad when you have also done the same thing?” she says, and Jun doesn’t even have to squint to know the double-layer meaning on her words.

But his stubborn male ego insists that he’s not about to let this go so easily.

“Oh no, don’t you dare turn this around, woman,” he bites back acidly, “This is not about me and we both know it!”

She stares defiantly at him, and Jun suddenly realizes they have completely forgotten that they are not the only ones in there, but he really couldn’t care less.

“Oh sure,” she answers in the same manner, and stops minutely when Jun sees the way Ohno’s hand moves to grip at her arm without even looking up, lightly as if he’s silently telling her to stop. Then she sighs. “Fine, I’m sorry,” she says, her voice a tad softer.

The urge to grab her by the hair is too strong that he has to curl his fingers into a fist just to keep himself from crossing the distance between them and do just that. He knows he’s being unfair, that he’s actually no different from her but he couldn’t help it.

“That’s it? You think everything’s going to be okay just because you said sorry?”

“Oh, stop being so melodramatic, will you? We’re not married yet, so there’s really no need for you to act like that – like a good-for-nothing husband that has been cheated on by his wife,” she tells him.

He is jabbing an angry finger towards her even before he realizes it. “Hell, I was about to propose to you, you bi –“ he yells, and knows he just said something completely untrue, biting his tongue just in time before he hauls the word out to her, taking a few careful breathes to calm himself down.

She snorts and Jun is sure she is going to tell him to go straight to hell but Ohno’s touches seems to always calm her down, which only makes him angrier. He is surprised there are no streams puffing out from his ears.

What surprises him is Ohno, who seems to be the only one who is taking everything seriously, hearing Ohno’s voice for the first time after he had delivered two sweet punches against his pretty face more than half hour ago. And not only that, because aside from Ohno’s litany of apologies, he is now crouched on the floor, his face touching Mao’s carpeted floor while Mao desperately tugs him up by the arms.

“It is my fault, Matsumoto-san, please forgive me --” Ohno’s voice is quivering just like the rest of him, keeps kneeling there and apologizing to the floor despite Mao’s insistent tugging. “Please don’t get mad at her, it’s all my fault. She wasn’t – she didn’t want -- but –“ Ohno is saying incoherently, his shoulders continuously shaking.

“Satoshi, stop,” Mao says then and she sounds completely different from the way she was talking to Jun before, her voice so soft that he almost couldn’t hear her over the sounds of Ohno’s incoherent mumblings. She sure looks like she would rather change places with Ohno, her fingers tight and yet still tender against Ohno’s arms. “Stop, please… you don’t have to do this.. It’s not your fault, hey, come on up now, please?” she says and kneels beside Ohno, hooking her thumb under Ohno’s chin and lifting Ohno’s face.

Ohno keeps shaking his head, murmurs something under his breath when he opens his eyes to meet Mao’s, and she shakes her head in return, her expression softening even more. Then she is leaning in, planting an even gentler kiss against the corners of Ohno’s mouth, fingers stroking Ohno’s cheek as she does so.

Jun can’t believe he is now looking at the same girl he’d been dating for almost two years, because honestly, even after those years they spent together, Mao never looked at him the same way she is looking at Ohno now – like he is the most important thing she ever had the opportunity to possess, like Ohno and Ohno alone completes her existence and she doesn’t care about the rest.

It suddenly feels like they are all invading a private moment, most especially when he realizes Mao is crying as well, her hands finding Ohno’s own with so little difficulty. Ohno looks down when Mao whispers something, nods his head and mouths, _‘I love you so much’_.

He takes his gaze off of them and absently turns around to find a pair of liquid, brown eyes staring at him with so much intensity that could rival that of Mao’s gaze on Ohno, his heartbeat racing when he realizes he is staring back at the pair of eyes he has been longing to stare at since that morning.

Well, at least not before all of these.

He heaves a sigh and retrieves the pile of keys he keeps in his pockets, removes one from the rest, walks toward the nearest drawer and places it there, before turning around.

No one dares to speak even when he reaches the corner and he stops, turns back around to spare them one last look.

“I hope for all our sakes, that this is the last time we see each other,” he says evenly, “ – because I’m not sure what I’m going to do to any of you if our paths happened to cross in the future…” Then he turns back around and leaves.

_ Epilogue_

“I can’t believe she took your advice seriously,” Nino is saying, looking mildly horrified though everyone could tell he is acting – he’s good at that and he knows it – looking down at himself and shaking his head. “I look like a freaking eggplant,” Nino whines half-heartedly, “ – a freaking unripe eggplant,” 

He swats at Nino’s head, albeit lightly, and reaches to tug him by his wrist.

“Shut up,” he says and starts fussing over Nino, busying his hands into fixing Nino’s suit while the man stands still; but he could tell that Nino wants to say something – he’s blushing and the tips of his ears are turning red, but he keeps his mouth shut.

He steps away when he’s done and scans Nino up and down. 

“All done?” Nino asks around a little private smile and he rolls his eyes in return. “Seriously, I look like a –“

“One more comment about the color and I’m sending you to walk out there naked,” he threatens, turning around to face the full length mirror and fixing his own clothes; he’s not even surprised to feel Nino’s arms around him not even a minute after, and Nino’s pointy chin digging against his shoulder.

“Jun-pon is so grumpy,” Nino comments, smiling slyly and Jun knows him too well for that. He chuckles and lets Nino lean his weight on him, smiles and shivers when Nino’s lips attach itself against the nape of his neck.

He shakes Nino off, but the movement isn’t that hard that Nino knows he is bluffing. He huffs when Nino whines against his neck, fingers possessive around his waist. 

“Because Jun-pon wants everything to be perfect and you are ruining it,” he bites back, but doesn’t fight when Nino turns him around, arms moving up to wrap them around his neck. 

“I’m not ruining anything,” Nino says, almost against his lips; their faces are so close that Jun can smell Nino’s aftershave (which is actually his) and chuckles when Nino puckers his mouth, obviously waiting for something Jun isn’t ready to give him. 

Well, at least until he hears Nino begs. 

“You are,” he says, tilting his head to the side just to avoid Nino’s puckering mouth. “And quit trying to kiss me because you’re not going to get anything from me until I see you out there with the others. We both know Aiba’s not going to be able to hold his tears at bay, maybe even before Mao-chan walks down the aisle, and Ohno would probably cry with him… so I expect you to be a good boy and stand beside Ohno until this whole thing is over,” 

Nino looks like he is going to say something but he quickly reaches over to slap a hand over Nino’s mouth. This is really not the time to argue, or to have Nino all over him like a freaking limpet because he knows himself enough (and Nino too) to know that he won’t be able to keep himself from banging Nino till they can’t both move a single finger if he allows Nino to talk more than he should.  

“And no, I don’t want to hear anything – no excuses, no nothing –“ he says, pushes Nino away and smiles. “Go on ahead.”

Nino scowls. “I’m not leaving until you give me what I want,” Nino stubbornly refuses to move; crossing his arms tightly over his chest and puckers his mouth again. 

“Stop being a child, Ninomiya,” 

This makes Nino grin. “Then you’ve been fucking a child all this time, Matsumoto, you realize that?” 

“Oh, shut up,” 

“I won’t until you give me what I wa –“ 

The door opens, and Aiba appears, already red in the face. “G-Guys, the ceremony’s about t-to b-begin,” he says with a sniff. He and Nino roll their eyes in response and he nods at Aiba who looks about ready to bawl his eyes out, as if he hasn’t still.

“We’ll be there in a few, Aiba-chan,” he says, grunting when Nino uses that chance to jump him, arms around his neck again.

“K-Kay,” Aiba mumbles, already closing the door behind him. “Just make it fast… Mao-chan’s already having a bitch fit and Satoshi is staring into space,” he says, almost to himself, his voice trembling. 

He looks at Nino. “I’m not letting any of you retards to ruin this wedding, I worked hard to make this perfect!” He grits, and he knows he looks half-crazed. 

Nino beams at him and tugs him down for a gentle, gentle kiss, until the only thing he can think about is the way Nino’s mouth is moving against his, the way their tongues slowly tangles with each other, their breathes mingles, and Jun finds himself relaxing before he even realizes it.

When Nino steps back, he is smiling and Jun couldn’t help but smiles back. 

“It’ll be fine, don’t worry,” Nino says, then holds his hand out. “Let’s go?”

He stares at it for about a few beats before he reaches back, let’s Nino twines their hands together and just lets Nino lead him toward the door.

He’s been letting Nino lead them everywhere, has given the reins to Nino and Nino hasn’t, not even once, disappointed him; He trusts Nino then, when he left them behind that night, trusts Nino when Nino appeared one day, knocked on his door and requested to be let in. He trusted Nino then when Nino didn’t even as much as say anything and just went straight to him, held him and kissed him and had allowed him to do more.

He doesn’t even know how Nino managed to coerce him into meeting the others after a week, and the week after that. He doesn’t know how Nino did it, but after a month, he had completely forgotten about that incident, found himself hanging out with Aiba and Ohno and Mao like before, and sometimes Sakurai-san was there too, as if nothing bad had happened between them.

And then two months ago, Mao asked him to be her bestman (said she didn’t have any girl bestfriend) aside from asking him for help for the preparation of her wedding.

Here and now, Jun knows that not everything is a lie, because when he looks at his and Nino’s twined fingers, he knows the lies ended when Nino knocked on his door and looked up at him as if he was looking at their future together through this man’s eyes, that this was one more thing none of them ever expected.

Nino tugs at their joined hands and Nino reels him in, presses another kiss against the corners of his mouth and grins.

“Could you please wipe that sappy look off your face, J,” Nino says with a chuckle as he opens the door for them, but not without so much fondness. “Let me just remind you that this is Mao-chan’s wedding, not yours… so if you are going to stare moonily at me all throughout the ceremony, tell me now so I can hide behind Aiba-chan before you embarrass me in front of everyone,”

He slaps Nino across the back of his head with his free hand and wonders, not for the first time why the hell this stupid, loud-mouthed brat ends up to be the love of his fucking life. 

“Right,” Nino counters, lifts their joined hands to drop one lingering kiss across his knuckles, before he let go. “I’m hiding, remember that,” Nino says and leads them out. 

Jun knows he is lying, but he doesn’t say it because Nino knows he won’t, at least until they are alone and he can punish Nino for being the person he loves to hate most of the time, as they both move to stand into position. Mao is already there, smiling despite her tears on her pretty, pretty purple wedding gown and her bouquet of purple roses. Ohno is waiting for her, with sniffing Aiba on his side and Nino joining them.

He smiles and walks towards Mao, reaches out to squeeze her hand, careful not to quash the flowers and moves to stand behind her. Mao turns and mouths ‘thank you’. He nods and smiles back. 

Everyone is waiting.

**Author's Note:**

> thank you to andreja1989 for being an amazing beta <3


End file.
